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Cheese may be helpful in reducing your possibility of developing Type 2 Diabetes

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Food Facts ran across this information today and wanted to share it with our community. Diabetes is a disease that can affect anyone in the population … male or female, young or old, rich or poor. We all know someone who lives with diabetes and needs to adjust their lifestyle accordingly.

Recent research is now linking the possibility that eating a moderate amount of cheese each day can actually reduce the possibility of developing Type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is the most common type of the disease, affecting about 26 million children and adults in the U.S. The researchers wanted to explore a possible connection between dairy products and the disease.

They studied about 16,000 healthy adults and 12,000 adults with diabetes in eight European nations. The results took into consideration the ages, sex, education level, BMI, and diet of each participant. At the conclusion of the study it was discovered that those who consumed two slices of cheese every day reduced their chances of developing the disease by 12 percent.

It was found that the total intake of dairy products among participants did not affect diabetes development. However, the association between the consumption of cheese and the development of diabetes became obvious. In fact, it wasn’t just about cheese, the inverse relationship between diabetes went further, including other fermented dairy products like yogurt and fermented milk.

It’s important to remember that the USDA guidelines for dairy intake suggest three cups of dairy each day. Two slices of cheese accounts for one cup of that intake. So needless to say, the study isn’t suggesting that we all eat cheese with every meal, or over do in any way. However, moderate cheese intake does seem to play a part in keeping diabetes at bay. And, if you’re a cheese lover, it’s good to hear that you can enjoy that moderate amount and know that it’s doing something valuable for your health! Of course, it’s noted that more study is certainly called for.

Food Facts likes to keep our community aware of every way our food affects our health. It’s nice to have some good news about a food that many people enjoy. We’ll continue to keep you posted as we find our more and more. In the meantime, you can read more here: http://www.ajcn.org/content/96/2/382.abstract